Cobargo resident snubs PM after losing home in bushfires
The pregnant woman who refused to shake Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s hand while he visited her town of Cobargo, which was devastated by fire, said he turned his back on her after her home was burnt to the ground. The PM has said he is not taking the reactions of those who snubbed or heckled him personally.
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The woman who had her hand forcibly shaken by Scott Morrison said the PM turned his back on her after her home was burnt to the ground.
Zoey Salucci McDermott reposted the video of Mr Morrison on her Facebook stating he ignored her when she had nothing left.
“I have lost everything I own,” the Cobargo resident said.
“My house is burnt to the ground and the Prime Minister turned his back on me.”
The mother of a young daughter, Uma, was lauded online for her refusal to shake the PM’s hand.
“I can’t believe he f**king walked away from you!” Joelene April-Maree Fawbert wrote.
“Oh my goodness this is so sad Zoey, and the fact you refused to shake his hand so he took yours and shook it for you, heartbreaking,” Lulu O’Brien said.
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Mr Morrison says he understands why bushfire victims are angry and that he’s not taking the abuse personally, despite being called “an idiot”.
NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance said locals in his fire-ravaged electorate of Bega gave Mr Morrison the unwelcomed reception he deserved.
The PM was heckled in the streets of Cobargo on Thursday, the town where father and son Robert and Patrick Salway died in a bushfire earlier this week.
One resident yelled that Mr Morrison was an “idiot” who wouldn’t be getting any votes around there.
Mr Constance was scathing in his assessment of the prime minister’s response to bushfires blazing across Australia, with NSW declaring a state of emergency.
“I haven’t had a call from him so to be honest with you the locals probably gave him the welcome he deserved,” the Liberal MP told Seven News.
“I’d say this to the prime minister today: the nation wants you to open up the cheque books.
“I know this is tough and I know I’m on his side of politics. But the only two people who are providing leadership at this stage are (NSW Rural Fire Service commissioner) Shane Fitzsimmons and (NSW premier) Gladys Berejiklian.”
Mr Morrison said it not his job to take the criticism personally, but provide support wherever possible, and said he has since reached out to Mr Constance.
The prime minister said he understands the criticism being directed his way because people are “hurting”.
“I don’t take it personally, I just see it as a sense of frustration and hurt and loss and anger at what is the ferocity of these natural disasters,” Mr Morrison said in Bairnsdale, eastern Victoria, on Friday.
“I understand that and we’ll seek to provide that comfort and support in whatever way we can. People have suffered great loss. They are feeling very raw.
“Andrew, like so many in that part of NSW, he’s been defending his own property, he’s deeply part of that community.
“People are angry, if they want to direct that at me, that is up to them. It is not something that will distract me, it is something I will empathise with.
“It’s my job to stay focused on ensuring that we have the maximum coordination of effort across many states.”
Mr Constance’s neighbours at Malua Bay lost their homes and the NSW MP called on Mr Morrison to immediately provide money for victims to buy supplies.
“We’ve lost a lot of homes. A lot of businesses. I know people who have lost both,” he said.
Federal Natural Disaster Minister David Littleproud on Thursday announced disaster relief payments would be extended to bushfires survivors in the Bega Valley.
Payments of $1000 per adult and $400 per child can be claimed through the Department of Human Services.
On Friday Mr Littleproud said up to $18.1 million in new disaster-recovery assistance would be extended to the Bega Valley, Eurobodalla, Queanbeyan- Palerang, Shoalhaven, Snowy Monaro, Snowy Valleys and Mid-Western council areas. The joint funding with the NSW government would give farmers and small businesses recovery grants of up to $15,000.
“Getting back to business is one of the best ways to recover,” Mr Littleproud said.
Mr Morrison, who has received a warmer reception visiting fire-ravaged parts of East Gippsland in Victoria on Friday, indicated he’s likely to cancel a visit to India planned for mid-January because of the bushfires.